Redesigning a therapy booking experience to reduce drop-off and cognitive load
To create a calmer, more trustworthy path to reservation on mobile first.
Company
Terapivakten
Industry
Healthcare
Duration
2 weeks
Role
UX/UI, Branding, CRO, Accessibility
Tools
Figma, FigJam, ChatGPT 4o
Background
Terapivakten was experiencing high booking drop-off after launching a new website, especially on mobile where most reservations happened. The existing flow forced users to make too many decisions at once, exposed sensitive form fields too early, and created confusion through unclear naming, inconsistent layouts, and overwhelming interface patterns.
Outcome
The redesign created a much more structured and trustworthy booking concept centered on progressive disclosure, clearer service architecture, and mobile-first usability. The booking process was split up into separate screens with different entry points, asking the user to input the necessary information step by step to evoke trust, improve usability and reduce cognitive overload. It also reframed accessibility as a core product requirement, not a compliance afterthought.
Challenges
01
The product served people who may already feel stressed, overwhelmed, or cognitively taxed while seeking care.
02
The client initially asked for a palette update, but the underlying issue turned out to be structural, not cosmetic.
03
Most bookings happened on mobile, so the experience had to work exceptionally well on smaller screens.
04
Formal usability testing was limited by project scope, so iteration relied on close client feedback and real-world task checks.
05
The service offer itself was complex, with overlapping session names and multiple booking entry points.
06
Female and male user groups showed different booking patterns, therefore entry points had to be adjusted
Process
UX Audit
Definition
Ideation
Final UI
My Role
UX/UI
CRO
A11y
Branding
My work included:
Website and booking-flow audit
Problem framing based on analytics and flow analysis
Information architecture restructuring
Restructuring and renaming of service offers
Booking-flow redesign across multiple entry points
Mobile-first responsive UI design
Brand system updates including color and type
Developer handoff notes and implementation guidance
Key Decisions
1. Reframe the problem from “visual redesign” to “conversion-critical booking redesign"
What changed:
Instead of only updating branding, I redesigned the full website and especially the reservation process.
Why:
The drop-off problem was driven by interaction complexity, cognitive overload, and low trust, not just outdated aesthetics.
Alternative considered:
A lighter visual refresh focused on color and styling.
Tradeoff:
A broader redesign required more work and coordination, but addressed the real business risk instead of treating symptoms.
2. Break the booking process into guided steps to reduce overwhelm
What changed:
I replaced the dense, dropdown-heavy booking experience with a step-by-step flow that progressively asks for information.
Why:
Users were being asked to choose services, therapist, date, and share personal data too early, which increased cognitive load and privacy concerns.
Alternative considered:
Keeping a single-page booking form and only cleaning up labels or layout.
Tradeoff:
Multi-step flows add more screens, but they make decision-making easier and can feel significantly safer and calmer.
3. Design around multiple booking intents instead of forcing one path
What changed:
I created separate but connected flows for users entering from the homepage, therapist pages, and service pages.
Why:
Different user groups start differently: some choose a therapist first, others a therapy type, while returning clients often want direct access to booking.
Alternative considered:
One universal booking path for all users.
Tradeoff:
Supporting multiple entry points increases IA complexity, but better matches real user behavior and reduces friction.
4. Simplify service naming and grouping with AI-assisted information architecture work
What changed:
Using a full service list from the client, I used ChatGPT 4o to help reorganize offerings by service type first, with location and related challenges as secondary attributes.
Why:
The service list was overly long, repetitive, and confusing. Reducing and regrouping options made the booking flow easier to scan and understand.
Alternative considered:
Keeping the existing service structure and only editing labels manually.
Tradeoff:
AI accelerated multilingual information processing and clustering, but still required strong human judgment to keep the system clear and clinically appropriate.
5. Make the visual system calmer without becoming clinical or sterile
What changed:
I introduced a softer palette built around dark purple, beige, and pastel green, paired with Playfair Display and Manrope.
Why:
The interface needed to feel trustworthy and gentle for users in a vulnerable context, while still looking modern and professional.
Alternative considered:
A teal-based direction closer to clinical health-tech aesthetics.
Tradeoff:
A calmer emotional tone supports reassurance, but still has to maintain enough contrast and structure for clarity and accessibility.
Key takeaways
Balancing user needs with business goals
The importance of close communication with the client and the team
Creating clear instructions for the project manager and the developers
Usability is a systemic effort between many elements and interactions and should be treated as such
The amazing portential of Artificial intellence in processing multi-lingual data sets that can implemented as solutions in digital products
The importance of creating barrier-free, accessible products in edge cases, such as temporary mental health issues
Next steps
Guide the implementation process together with the project management team and the developers
Analyse usage metrics (GA4) to understand difficulties and pain points of the new website
Collaborate with the SEO team
Process documentation
Responsive UI
Mobile
Desktop
Optimizing information architecture with ChatGPT 4o
User flows
Style guide
